Gloves for directing traffic



April 1957 E. E. WELCH GLOVES FOR DIRECTING TRAFFIC Filed Nov. 21, 1955INVENTOR fflWARD E. WELCH I His Agent United States Patent GLOVES FORDIRECTING TRAFFIC Edward E. Welch, East Otis, Mass.

Application November 21, 1955, Serial No. 548,009

2 Claims. (Cl. 116-35) My invention relates to improvements in glovesand the like that make them particularly well adapted for directingtraffic.

The accompanying single figure illustrates the preferred embodiment ofthe invention.

In the directing of traffic personally by an ofiicer, in the absence of,or in contravention of, traflic lights, reliance is generally placed onmanual signals given by the ofiicer and sometimes additionally on awhistle. The whistle calls attention to a change in orders, and sometimes the new orders can be guessed, but not with complete certainty;and therefore, although the line of trafiic that has been moving may beassumed as being ordered to halt, other traflic should not start untilsignalled to do so by the officer, so that manual signals constitute theprincipal reliance of the ofiicer and of the motorist. But notinfrequently such signals are misunderstood. In heavy traffic and poorlight, the strenuous gesticulations of an oflicer trying to expedite themovement of the traffic in several different directions are sometimesmisconstrued by the tired or impatient motorist, and an occasionalaccident and more numerous near accidents result. As a tratfic oflicermyself, I have had personal experience of both situations and have beenaware also of other oflicers having had similar experiences.

An object of my invention is therefore to provide means whereby manualsignals given by an officer may be recognized by the motorists moreeasily and clearly than here tofore, and traflic may be moved moreexpeditiously and safely and with less strain on the motorist and theofficer.

A principle of my invention is based on the observation that, althoughtrafl'ic officers differ from each other in certain elements of theirsignals, they agree on certain others, and a solution of the problem maybe based on the latter. The palm of the hand held against a line oftraflic indubitably means halt, while the come on gesture invariablyexposes the back of the hand to the motorists. Thus we have two basicsignals that are instinctive to give and instinctive to understand: thepalm of the hand for stop, and the back of the hand with appropriategesture, to move.

Now, in the rush and strain of heavy traffic, and especially in poorlight, some mental effort and concentrated attention are necessary toobserve quickly and with certainty, at a distance, whether it is thepalm or the back of the hand of the gesticulating officer that is turnedto him. According to this invention, this problem is solved by providingfor the traffic oflicer a pair of gloves, each one of which is red onits palm side and green on its back side. With these worn by theofiicer, he can continue to signalize his orders in the instinctivemanner, and the motorists who are to stop will see a red signal from thepalm of the otfi-cers glove turned to them, and those who are beingmotioned to come on will see a green signal from the back of theotficers glove turned to them. The need for strenuous gesticulation bythe officer is thereby eliminated, saving his strength and disposition,and the necessity for concentrated attention and keen discrimination onthe part of the motorist is also reduced, enabling him to obey theintended orders in a relaxed and nonargumentative mood. Thus themovement of trafiic is expedited, with the hazards of misunderstood orunclear signals greatly reduced.

Referring to the accompanying single figure, it will be seen that 1 is aglove of the conventional gauntlet type, but the wrist portion may belong or short as desired. The palm side 2 of the glove will be seen asshaded to indicate red color, and its back side 3 as green color.

While five fingers are shown separate from each other, any number ofthem may be joined together as in a mitten or muff.

In order to assure of clarity and maximum visibility, especially atnight time and poor light, I prefer to make up the glove with its palmpiece of a fabric dyed in a highly reflecting red dye, such as afluorescent red dye, and the back piece of a fabric dyed in a highlyreflecting green dye. Such materials are available in the market, someof them under the name of Flecton. However, this invention is notrestricted to a trademarked article.

The glove may also be imparted the desired colorings by externallylining it appropriately, or spraying it with the desired colorings orequivalent process.

It will be seen that my invention enables a single device to performmore than one function, inasmuch as the gloves so made provide weatherprotection to the hands of the officer, and make him dignified inaccordance to the etiquette for an officer to be in gloves, in additionto the traffic signalling service described above.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. A glove for use by traflic oflicers in. directing trafiic including apalm portion and a back portion, said palm and back portions normallybeing directed toward traffic to signal Stop and Go, respectively,substantially the entire visible surface area of said palm portion beingmade of a material impregnated with a highly reflective red dyematerial, and substantially the entire visible surface area of said backportion being made of a material impregnated with a highly reflectivegreen dye material.

2. A glove for use by traffic oflicers in directing traffic including apalm portion and a back portion, each of said portions including fingerelements, said palm and back portions normally being directed towardtraflic to signal Stop" and Go, respectively, substantially the entirevisible surface area of said palm portion including the finger elementsthereof being made of a material impregnated with a highly reflectivered dye material, and substantially the entire visible surface area ofsaid back portion including the finger elements thereof being made of amaterial impregnated with a highly reflective green dye material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,244,065 Miller Oct. 23, 1917 1,630,730 Daugherty May 31, 19272,092,574 Eddy Sept. 7, 1937 2,581,549 McGlough Ian. 8, 1952

